Stephanie Stafford

29/09/2025

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wealth-on-wednesday-tickets-1752308013439?aff=oddtdtcreator

02/09/2025

What's the opportunity cost of keeping money in your offset account?
Interest rates are on their way down, which means that the interest savings will also decrease.
Maybe that money could be better deployed to work harder in the market.
Food for thought.
This is not financial advice. Please seek advice before making any big decisions.

25/08/2025

From the heart today: I have, in the past, felt more than apprehensive about getting help with physical training 💔 .

It would be the same cliched old story each time – I’d join a gym with the best intentions, train on the machines I knew how to use comfortably and avoid learning how to use other more intimidating equipment. I felt a weird sort of prideful shame, the thought of the chunky girl asking for help from some shredded gym-extraordinaire was too much for me. I didn’t want to further encroach on a space that I already felt completely uncomfortable – and so I would flounder. I’d make it to the gym for about a month, get bored and disillusioned, and quit.

In my reflections, I was considering why a family member of mine was so reluctant to go and get financial advice. I mean, there are the obvious answers like “I don’t have enough money to warrant paying a financial planner” and “I don’t trust financial advisers” but I think, for some, the reason might be deeper.
I came to a conclusion: In the same way that I have hangups about getting a Personal Trainer, some people may have hangups about seeking financial advice.

Upon this realisation, I signed up at the smallest local gym in the area and found myself a Personal Trainer 💪.

Our first session was great – he asked what my goals were, asked which machines I was already comfortable with, and then we started our first workout. I couldn’t help but draw parallels between his process and my own as a financial planner during those first conversations I have with a prospective client.
While he was educating me on how best to use the equipment, correcting my form, pushing me a little bit, he went through what the personal training service would cover. Honestly, I thought I would just be paying for our time together each week and that would be the end of it. The reality, however, pleasantly surprised me!

Access to an app with a personalised weekly training plan, help with questions whenever I needed, video resources, meal ideas and expert eyes to review my exercise logs each month and make tweaks where necessary, on top of the weekly sessions were all included in the service.

Again, drawing parallels between my own profession and his, I became aware of my own misconceptions about what personal training actually is – and how in-depth the service I was paying for actually is.

And sitting there in my car post-workout, like an idiot, it dawned upon me.
We don’t know what we don’t know 🧠 .

To come to terms with this unlocks the potential to make significant positive life changes. To overcome the weird shame about what we don’t know is paramount.

Seeking the help of an expert to guide us, teach us, correct us and push us when necessary can be difficult. Seeing progress is the reward. Increased confidence is the cherry on the (protein) sundae🍦.

31/07/2025

What the bleep is Superannuation—and Why You Should Absolutely Give a bleep 💥
Alright legends, superannuation is where investments go to party.

You’ve paid tax. You’ve whinged about tax. And if you've ever worked even one soul-sucking shift, you’ve felt its sting. In Australia, we’ve got a progressive tax system—which means the more you make, the more the government shouts "THANKS, MATE" and takes a bigger slice of your pay 🍰💸.

That’s the Individual tax structure. Now enter: Super.
It’s a different tax structure—and here’s the kicker:
-- Flat 15% tax. Max. --
(pending div296 - ask me later)
Yeah. Whether you’re rolling in dividends, interest, distributions or just vibing with compound returns—it’s all taxed at 15% inside super. Compare that to the usual 18–47% tax you cop outside of it… and suddenly Super's looking pretty darn sexy 🫦.

Now, let’s talk about the fossilized relic of a super fund you’ve had since your first job selling overpriced popcorn at the cinema. 🎬🦖
If you’ve ever dared log in (possessed by the ghost of a financial planner with unfinished business), you’ve seen your “investment option.”

Super funds like REST, HESTA, AustralianSuper, etc., offer a menu of choices, which can be very roughly summarised as:
- 🟢 Balanced (aka: “meh, sounds safe”)
- 🔴 High Growth (“I’m a risk taker, baby!”)
- 🟤 Conservative (“I like my returns like I like my naps: slow and steady”)

But like… what do these labels even mean?

Welcome to the mysterious world of AA.

Asset Allocation (not Alcoholics Anonymous, although looking at market volatility might drive you there 🍷).
- "High Growth" = higher risk, more drama, more money money
- "Balanced" = supposedly 50/50—but feels like they eyeballed it
- "Conservative" = supposedly less risk, more chill—but definitely not immune to chaos

So yeah, don't assume Balanced is "balanced"—the reality is often unbalanced.

And in the same way Trump is labelled as a "conservative", I would question that label on investments as well.

Why Should You Care?

Because your future retired self deserves luxury 3 ply toilet paper. Not the dreaded, tragic single-ply. 🧻💔

Knowing what the bleep your super is invested in means:
- You can switch if it's not vibing with your goals
- You get better long-term returns thanks to smart compounding
- You won’t freak out as much when the market throws a tantrum

So go check it. Pop the bonnet. Poke around for dodgy bits.
Or better yet, take your super to a financial mechanic —they'll get under the hood and make sure the engine’s purring.

27/07/2025

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/i-asked-ai-and-my-financial-planner-the-same-questions-heres-how-they-stacked-up-8c493749

AI financial planning offers powerful automated insights — but nothing replaces the tailored wisdom of human wealth managers.

25/07/2025

Home: from above.
How lucky am I?!
Can't wait to give my toddler a big squishy hug! He will probably tell me "no mummy", but I can't wait to see him 💙👩‍👦

23/07/2025

Conference at the Gold Coast. Lucky me!

Being a financial planner is like juggling flaming swords while riding a rollercoaster—decoding charts, dodging regulation curveballs, stalking biz trends, and side-eyeing the rise of our AI overlords (lol but also... 👀🤖).

In Australia, as a profession we commit to 40 hours of professional development a year—because being brilliant doesn’t just happen by osmosis. And for the next 3 days, I’ll be smashing through a chunk of it with my fellow advisers in the trenches ⚔️.

Let the CPDathon begin. Snacks provided. Attention span set to max. Game face on. 😅

21/07/2025

😅 Why can't mortgage brokers and financial planners just be friends?

A client recently told me their mortgage broker advised against making tax-deductible contributions to superannuation, claiming it’s “taxed going in and taxed going out.” Bold from someone whose job is, quite literally, to help people get into debt 💸.

When the client mentioned they were following the guidance of their financial adviser, the broker blurted something about “ulterior motives" 🙄. Hmmm.

He’s not just skating close to the line of giving personal financial advice—his toes are right on it. And he’s doing it after reviewing all of my client’s personal circumstances.

Spoiler alert 🚨: He’s wrong. Dead wrong.

This client’s goal is to aggressively build wealth before retirement, leveraging tax savings from a high marginal rate to supercharge yearly contributions—while still managing a mortgage with extra repayments. Retiring debt-free and with a healthy nest egg for a tax-free income stream. 💰✅️

Strategic. Smart. And apparently too advanced for Mr Broker 🤷‍♂️.

You can’t eat bricks and mortar, Mr Broker. And last I checked, the Age Pension doesn’t exactly come with a side of financial freedom.

19/07/2025

Australians will spend 12 years saving for a deposit, then borrow $1.6 million for a fibro shack with asbestos in the walls because it’s “close to a good café.” Meanwhile, they still think investing in shares is “a bit risky.”

10/07/2025

Received my medal for completing my first walking challenge.
"It is not the strength of the body, but the strength of the spirit."

06/05/2025

For many Australian families, the decision to move a parent or loved one into aged care often arrives suddenly—prompted by a health crisis, a fall, or the loss of a spouse. It’s a period marked by emotional strain, urgency, and confusion. The shift into residential aged care can feel overwhelmin...